2016-17 saw the worst prison riots in decades. Across the country the prisons estate exploded as campaigners and prisoners had predicted. A light was shone on the so-called prison crisis. In Injustice it’s not that prisons are in crisis, prisons are the crisis. Click here for screenings.

In 2016/2017 a film maker decided to chart the current state of prison and the criminal justice system. Injustice tells the story of the system through the the stories of prisoners, their families, and prison workers, interwoven with research and analysis by campaigners and academics. We hear of life before prison, alienation, crime and confinement, and the consequences they hold for all of us.

The Film

Why make a film about prison and injustice? Full documentary available here

2016-17 saw the worst prison riots in decades. Across the country the prisons estate exploded as warned by campaigners and prisoners. The flames of the riots cast a light on the so-called prison crisis. Look hard and you’ll see it’s not that prisons are in crisis, prisons are the crisis.

Injustice investigates the crisis, and delves into the world of prisons, crime and the judicial system.

Ex-prisoners, activists, criminologists and even prison governors tell us who the prisoners are and why they are inside. We hear what happens inside, and outside. Injustice asks what are prisons supposed to do and what do they actually do.

Prisoners

More than 60% of prisoners suffer mental health problems, the majority are from broken homes, poor backgrounds with little education or prospects. We have to ask whether further disadvantaging them merely deepens the problem rather than providing solutions.

The film forces the question: Are prisons merely the tail end of social problems that have been left to fester?

Criminalisation

Sociologists and criminologists explain the context of crime and criminalisation, and prisoners narrate their backgrounds and how their lives before and after prison unfolded. A prison governor recalls the lesson he learned, that most prisoners shouldn’t be there, and it really could happen to anyone.

Not just another documentary

Injustice is not just another documentary. It opposes the corporate media approach to prison films, thirsty as they are for cliche and unintended parody.

Injustice has no camera operators chasing after prison guards closing in on their prey as if we were in a wildlife documentary. Prisoners are human beings, not animals. We ask the prison authorities for permission to make this film. We asked the prisoners instead.

Screenings and helping out

Injustice is due for release in winter 2017. If you would like to arrange or attend a screening, please get in touch. You can find screenings here.

You can read more about the film-making process in our blogs. Or you can see our trailers here.

How to help

Donate via Paypal to support our productions and help us screen Injustice wherever it is needed.

If you’d like to organise a screening, or help with publicity, please get in touch.

How to support us or work with us

Injustice is an independent radical documentary film. By radical we mean that it tells the story from the roots of the crisis – from those who work in, held captive by and campaign on the prison system.

We decided to make this film in response to the prison crisis, as with all the documentaries the film makers have made, we just start filming and hope that other things follow. This means we are hoping that we can gain funding to make the film and buy food to eat while we’re doing it!

We are looking to raise money from donations, applying to funders and to run a crowdfunding campaign. If you can help in any way, you can get in touch with us by using the contact page.

Help may also come in offers to help with the filming and production of the film. So if you’d like to get involved, just get in touch via the contact page and we can start the conversation!

If you want to help but can’t do either, you can still help spread the word, follow us on Twitter and talk to people about the project!